‘Star Trek 4’ Will Be the First ‘Star Trek’ Movie Directed by a Woman

Paramount is ready to take the Enterprise somewhere it’s never been before, by putting a woman in the director’s chair for the very first time in the history of the iconic sci-fi film franchise. In almost 40 years of Star Trek movies, not a single one has been directed by a woman, but that’s about to change.

According to THR, Paramount has been issued a directive “from the top” to hire a female filmmaker to tackle the next Star Trek sequel starring Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto — as confirmed at CinemaCon, this is one of two sequels in development. S.J. Clarkson, best known for directing Jessica Jones, is currently in talks to helm Star Trek 4, based on a screenplay by J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay.

This is, of course, separate from Quentin Tarantino’s potential Trek film, which is said to take place in a separate timeline. Tarantino has plans to direct — but not write — that film, which is rumored to be targeting an R-rating.

On the one hand, it’s great that Paramount has made hiring a female director for Trek their top priority, joining other studios in recent efforts to diversify the hiring of directors for big-budget films. On the other, it’s still kind of sad; not only will this be Trek’s first female director in almost 40 years, but hiring a female filmmaker is still such huge news. I can’t wait for the day when it’s not.